LEONARDO DA VINCI

BIOGRAPHY Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15 April 1452 near the Tuscan town of Vinci, in the present day Province of Florence, Italy.

BIOGRAPHY Leonardo da Vinci was a polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician,scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist and writer. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the «Renaissance man».

PAINTINGS The great painter left behind only a few paintings, he had many ideas for pictures and made many wonderful pen and ink sketches. But he had so many other interests that he found it hard to sit and paint for hours at a time. Some of his paintings have been lost because he liked to experiment. He used colors mixed with wax to paint a wonderful mural of a cavalry battle, but the wax melted and the picture was ruined.

"The Last Supper" is on the wall of a chapel in Milan. This painting was famous long before it was finished. There is such beauty in Leonardo's paintings. The faces of his people are full of expression. He used light and shade in a new way to make people look very lifelike. PAINTINGS

The Mona Lisa is most famous for her facial expression, her enigmatic smile and da Vincis mastering of tone and color in the painting. Many art critics and art history buffs suggest that the Mona Lisa is actually a portrait of Leonardo himself feminine form. In addition most viewers see the meaning behind Mona Lisas smile very differently. Now it is one of the greatest treasures of the Louvre in Paris.